Sunday, March 19, 2017

Media Release: Libertarian Party of Thurston County, WA 3.19.2017

Libertarian Party of Thurston County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: 3/19/17

Contact: James Blair
jamesblair@lpwa.org

Libertarians call for special session to repeal the GMA.

The Olympian newspaper quotes Governor Inslee on the Trump Administration’s budget as saying, “The president’s proposal trades away the support needed to build a prosperous economy for working families to instead pay for tax cuts for the wealthy…”

To solve the problem mentioned by the governor the Libertarian Party of Thurston County suggests the governor call a special session of the legislature to repeal the Growth Management Act. “Let’s get the construction industry back to work building homes and others structures,” said James Blair, for the LPTC.

According to a 2015 study land use laws such as the GMA are a drain on the local economy. One article on the study suggests that the laws cost the nation $1.6 trillion annually. The same article notes “…the economists calculate this would amount to an annual wage increase of $8,775 for the average worker.”

The article goes on to note that “Instead of fueling productivity and growth, too much of America’s urban economic power is simply being wasted on higher housing bills.”

Land use regulations have been criticized across the political spectrum by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, Jason Furman, chairman of former President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors and by Edward J. Pinto of the American Enterprise Institute.

In Houston where we are told there are no land use laws “rent prices are 32% lower than in Seattle” according to one report. When compared to Tokyo “Rent Prices in Seattle, WA are 51.68% higher than in Tokyo…” thanks to Japan’s strict respect for property rights.